ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A St. Louis County contractor faces a lawsuit after a crane accident last year resulted in lower-body amputations for an ironworker.

Attorneys for Brian Brinkley, a 29-year-old injured in the accident, filed a lawsuit on Jan. 17 against the Budrovich Contracting Company, according to court documents obtained by FOX 2.


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The lawsuit states that Brinkley “suffered a catastrophic jobsite crush” on Oct. 22, 2024, when a “structural steel column” being moved fell on him at a jobsite in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.

According to the lawsuit, Brinkley was a union ironworker at the Continental Tire Mixing Plant jobsite and present while a Budrovich employee operated a crane with the intent “to unload a steel column.” The lawsuit alleges that the Budrovich employee abruptly dropped a steel column that landed on Brinkley’s lower body.

Brinkley suffered severe injuries and underwent extensive medical treatment after the fall, including 34 surgeries and hemicorporectomy, which led to his lower half of his body being amputated, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit contends that Budrovich and the crane operator were negligent in following proper safety protocols. It claims that Budrovich failed to offer adequate job training and investigate prior alleged complaints about the employee who operated the crane.

Brinkley is seeking $25,000 in the lawsuit to cover for medical expenses, lost wages, and future pain and suffering.